Microchips are often packaged in various containers. It can be desirable to package a microchip with additional components, such as discrete components or other microchips. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,325 to Chow et al. states: “[P]assive components have been placed on the leadframe [of a semiconductor package] between the leads to eliminate negative electrical effects. These passive devices include capacitors, resistors, and inductors.” See col. 1, lines 33-36. However, including these additional components in a package (e.g., along the periphery of the die) can increase the package form factor.
One approach to accommodating two or more microchips inside a single package is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,190 to Yang et al., which discloses “a multi-chip module having a stack type flip-chip design for accommodating two or more chips each having a different function inside a single package, thereby reducing overall production cost.” See col. 2, lines 7-10.